A Different Side of Me
by Forever Endeavor One
Summary: Kendall's losing control, James is caught in the middle, Carlos wants to be accepted, and Logan just wants to fit in. Throw in choosing popularity over friendship, being hated by a parent, and being the new kid in town and you get a different side of me.
1. A Different Side of Me

**A Different Side of Me**

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing but the plot.

**Author's Note: **This story will contain slash writing. So if that's not your thing, then please don't read this story. Reviews are welcome, as is constructive criticism. Flames however, are not.

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

Logan Mitchell let another sob escape his lips as he hugged his knees closer into his body. He ran the back of his hand across his eyes to wipe away the tears that continued to fall from his eyes. When he figured that the tears wouldn't stop, he buried his face on his thighs letting the fabric of his black dress slacks soak up the remaining tears.

As another round of despair struck him, he let out another muffled sob that shook him to the core. He was about to let out another cry as he heard someone standing outside the closet door. He pushed himself further into the closet, putting his body in between some fancy dress gowns before the door to the closet opened.

Logan held his breath trying to be as quiet as possible, but to his disappointment the person standing at the door noticed him. The man standing there let out a sigh of relief as he turned towards another man standing next to him.

"Notify Master Mason that Master Logan has been located."

The other man nodded and left as the man holding the closet door open stepped into the closet and approached Logan. As he neared the boy, he squatted down to level himself with the boy and let out another sigh.

"Master Logan, do you have any idea how worried we all were when we couldn't find you?" the man asked.

Logan kept his gaze down as he wiped more tears that fell from his eyes.

"I'm sorry Bradley."

Logan continued as he let out a broken cry. He quickly jumped up and wrapped his tiny arms around the man's neck.

Bradley's eyes widened as the tiny boy began sobbing anew. He instantly found himself letting out a sad sigh.

"Why on earth are you apologizing Master Logan?"

A muffled response came from the boy that Bradley didn't understand. He pulled himself back to better understand the boy in his arms. He grabbed the handkerchief from his breast pocket and wiped Logan's face and nose with it.

"Come now Master Logan, calmly explain to me as to why you are crying by yourself in this closet."

Logan's lip quivered before he nodded his head and began to explain again to Bradley as to why he was crying.

"I was hiding here because I didn't want anyone to see that I was crying," Logan started as he pulled away from Bradley and tried his best to compose himself before continuing. "Some boys at school said the other day that boys aren't supposed to c-cry. They said that it made b-boys look w-weak."

Logan let his eyes fall to the floor unable to meet Bradley's eyes as he finished his statement. He was expecting Bradley to say that the boys at school were right. Boys that cried were weak. Just like Logan.

His doubts however, were incorrect as he was suddenly pulled back into the arms of the man in front of him. He instantly hugged Bradley back and placed his head in the older man's shoulder. He inhaled deeply, and found the scent of cinnamon and a hint of cigars, that Logan's father and Bradley smoked on occasion, to be calming him down a bit.

The older man began rubbing his hands on Logan's back trying to sooth the boy before beginning to speak.

"Oh, Master Logan," Bradley began with an exasperated sigh. "Those boys do not know what they are talking about. Crying, be it from a girl or a boy, is nothing to be ashamed of. It may in certain cases make you look weak, but that isn't to say that you yourself are because of it."

Bradley tightened his hold of Logan a little bit as the tiny boy began sobbing anew.

"You're only seven years old and to experience a loss such as this, gives you a right to cry without being ashamed. Without feeling like you are weak because of it."

Bradley stood up and carried Logan with him out of the closet and into the master bedroom. As he approached the bed, he placed Logan down on the edge of it and again leveled himself to the boy's height.

"Today," Bradley ran the pad of his thumb under Logan's eyes to wipe away the tears. "It is alright for you to cry."

Bradley placed his index finger under Logan's chin and lifted the boy's face so he could look into the boy's eyes. Logan's eyes widened as he saw tears falling from Bradley's eyes as well.

"Because the tears you shed aren't from weakness Master Logan, far from it in fact. The tears that you shed show how much you loved your Mother. You don't need to hide the fact that you are crying because you think it makes you look weak, because that is the furthest thing you are right now."

As soon as Bradley finished, he again found the young boy in his arms. There they stood, crying into each other until another person approached them. The man approached Bradley and Logan and wrapped his arms around the both of them. Bradley and Logan pulled back to see Logan's father had come in.

Instead of jumping into his Dad's arms, Logan just extended his right arm out and pulled his father closer to him. Logan's father smiled and allowed himself to be pulled into what now, would be the two most important people in his life.

"Thank you Bradley." Logan's father began.

The other man turned to face the speaker as he shyly drew his gaze to the floor. This caused Logan's father to burst out in laughter.

"Come now Bradley, there's no need to be embarrassed about what was said. In fact," Logan's father pulled back and brought Logan with him. "You may have said everything better than I ever could have."

Bradley again looked embarrassedly to the floor again.

"Master Mason-" Bradley began but was quickly cut off by the very person he was referring to.

"Now what did I say about calling me that Bradley?" Mason Mitchell quirked an eyebrow at the other man. "You've become as much of a part of this family as can be expected. There's no need to be so formal anymore. Just Mason is fine."

Bradley nodded his head slowly before looking back up towards the two Mitchell men.

"Mast-" Bradley began again but stopped himself as Mason rolled his eyes and let a grin break out. "Forgive me. This may take some time getting used to."

Mason's grin grew wider as he shook his head. "That's quite alright Bradley."

Bradley nodded as he went to leave the room but not before receiving another thanks from Mason.

When the two Mitchells were finally left alone, Mason went to sit down on the floor and rested his back on the footrest of the bed. When he was comfortable enough, he gently pulled his son from his shoulder and saw that the boy was quietly asleep.

He smiled as he placed Logan back in the crook of his neck and let the young boy rest. As he sat there, with the sound of his son's breathing quietly calming him, he let the tears he too had been keeping in, finally escape his eyes.


	2. Life Goes On

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing but the plot.

**Author's Note: **I want to send a thanks to the people that reviewed the story.

To: The Rest of you Guys that put this story in their Alert and/or Favorites list I want to thank you guys as well.

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><p><strong>Life Goes On<strong>

**8 Years Later**

Torres Garcia much like her grandson, Carlitos Garcia, was normally never without a smile on her face. It is a rare sight indeed catching the Latina with a frown on her face, let alone a scowl.

But lo and behold, the normally infectious smile that was constantly etched on her face was nowhere to be seen. A rare sight indeed, especially when she was making food. And not just any special type of food, no she was mixing up a batch of her grandson's favorite chocolate chip cookies.

As she used a spoon to scoop out another dallop of cookie dough, she directed her scowl towards the very reason as to why she was scowling in the first place.

Right across from her, reaching into the bowl for a fresh, just out of the oven, chocolate chip cookie, was her son and Carlos' father, Antonio Garcia. The moment he noticed her staring at him, he lowered his gaze to the floor. He put the cookie back into the bowl, and took his police helmet off. He grabbed a stool from under the island in the middle of the kitchen and sat himself down still not meeting his mothers gaze.

"Ma," he began softly but saw that he was ignored as his mother went to put another batch of cookies into the oven. "Ma, I'm sorry!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, all became silent as Torres Garcia suddenly slammed the oven door shut. Antonio jumped a little as the sound reverberated around the kitchen walls.

She quickly turned around and walked back towards the island. Antonio was more terrified by the fact that his mother hadn't screamed at him yet, than by the anger that she was keeping in. He was surprised at the calm tone in her voice when she finally did speak.

"As I said last night and the other previous nights, your apologies should not be directed to me Antonio." Torres said sadly as she began clearing the mixing bowls, cookie sheets, and spatulas off of the island.

"Ma," Antonio let out a tired sigh as he played with the strap of his helmet. He never got a chance to finish his thought when his mother finally had had enough.

"No!" Torres boomed as she harshly dropped the dishes into the sink. One of the mixing bowls, one of Torres' favorite, ended up breaking because of the impact. She didn't really care at the moment. She quickly turned to her son, the tears that she had been holding in already falling from her eyes.

"It has been a week Antonio! A week! I chose to stay out of this because I had hoped that you would be mature enough to fix it, but you haven't. I raised you right..." Torres let a sob escape her as she tried to catch her breath. Her son calmly walked around the island to try and comfort his mother, but he was pushed away. He lowered his arms in defeat as his mother continued to yell at him.

"El Dios no comete errores," Toress continued as she stared at her son. "God makes not mistakes Antonio. I taught you that."

"Ma," Antonio let out a broken sob as he too finally succumbed to the pain that he was holding in. But again, he was cut off by his mother.

"I did, I taught you that when you were a boy," Torres used a face towel to wipe away the tears. "But it seems like you have all but forgotten that lesson when it comes to your own son. All of the hateful words you said to him, I know that I did not raise you to be like this. What makes it even worse is that you still have not apologized to him all week!"

Antonio could only sit himself down on the stool again as he ground the heel of his palms into his eyes to rub the tears away. Torres finally stopped yelling as she waited to catch her breath. She again wiped the tears from her eyes as she rested her hands on the island to support her.

"Sus ojos han perdido su chispa Antonio. The spark that is normally in mi nieto hermosos ojosis gone," Torres continued. "Your hateful words have caused Carlitos to become a shell of what he once was. And until you fix this, I will not forgive you!"

Torres threw the face towel down onto the island as she stormed out of the kitchen leaving her son a crying mess.

The moment that Carlos heard his Abuela about to exit the kitchen, he rushed back up the stairs and into his room. As he closed his door, he leaned back into it and slid down as his legs gave way. He sat on the floor slowly trying to even his breathing out.

When he had heard something break downstairs in the kitchen earlier, he had wanted to see what was going on. When he finally realized that his Abuela and his Papi were fighting again because of him, he tried his hardest to pull himself away from the staircase and rush back into his room. But he just couldn't pull himself away.

Maybe it was the silence that had stretched on in the Garcia household that led him to stay and finally hear someone do something about it. Maybe it was the awkward times where Carlos would find his father trying not to look at him or the awkwardness and tension that built whenever Carlos and his father were in the same room with each other. Or maybe it was just the fact that Carlos' own father didn't accept him for who he was.

His Abuela had said ' El Dios no comete errores'. Well Carlos sure didn't believe that right now.

But he couldn't take being in his house any moment longer, he needed to get out and do something to clear his head. He needed a distraction. He was fishing out his cell phone in his pocket and searching through his contacts a moment later. He put the phone to his ear and waited for the person to answer. They picked up on the second ring. Carlos spoke before the other person could say anything.

"Kendall, I'm coming over."


	3. A Friend In Need

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing but the plot.

**Author's Note: **We dive into a chapter with James. There will be OCs in this chapter, if you don't normally like OCs, please don't flame.

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><p><strong>A Friend In Need<strong>

"Carson, he's doing it again."

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me."

"See for yourself."

The said boy turned around and focused his gaze towards one James Diamond. Sure enough, James had once again stopped walking and was looking at the screen of his phone. His eyebrows were drawn tight and his eyes seemed to become worried as his eyes glanced at the screen.

The previous boy, Carson, rolled his eyes as he began making his way towards James, the two other boys that was behind him already on his tail. When the group reached the tall brunette, Carson immediately got into James' face.

"Yo Diamond," Carson snapped his fingers in James' face, instantly granting him the brunette's attention. "What the hell do you keep stopping for?"

James blinked his eyes to clear the confusion before focusing his attention to the three guys in front of him. Each boy was looking at him in confusion waiting for an answer. He let out a fake cough as he flipped his cell phone screen shut and put it back into his pocket.

"Sorry, my mom just texted me, that's all."

Carson rolled his eyes as he once again turned around and started walking again. The boy to the left of Carson quickly followed him, but the other boy stayed looking at James.

James gulped nervously. The boy that stayed obviously didn't believe him. But the moment James saw the playful grin and the raise of an eyebrow break out on the other boy's face, James instantly calmed down. The other boy walked over to him and slung his arm around James' shoulder.

"Luckily for you, Carson can't tell when you're lying," the boy began as he started forward with James in tow. "I on the other hand…"

James groaned as he shrugged the arm off his back and stood in front of the once again grinning boy.

"Aaron, promise me you won't say anything to Carson."

James stared at Aaron as the said boy playfully tapped his chin with his index finger. James' eye may or may not have twitched as he watched his friend.

"Aaron!" James yelled causing the other boy to break out into laughter.

"Alright, alright but only on one condition," Aaron started slowly, trying to catch his breath.

"As long as it doesn't involve my lucky comb, I'll do it." James answered back, already reaching into his pocket to hold the said comb to his chest protectively.

Aaron rolled his eyes as the tall brunette began running the comb through his hair.

"Nothing of that stature, I assure you. I just want to know," he was immediately cut off as the phone in James' pocket buzzed and let out a tone to alert that he had just gotten a text message. "Who is texting you so much?" Aaron finished his statement.

James' eyes widened before he placed his hand on his cell phone, almost as if he wanted to protect the secret from getting out. He looked back up at Aaron and saw the other boy raise a questioning eyebrow.

Aaron was about to talk again, before the two of them were interrupted by the previous boy that had followed Carson earlier.

"Guys, Carson is wondering why you're standing out here instead of following us."

James moved back to stand next to Aaron as they stared at the guy in front of them. Further ahead, Aaron and James could see Carson impatiently tapping his foot while taking a sip of a beverage he had ordered. Aaron and James quickly went towards Carson with the other boy quickly following behind. When they were finally in front of Carson, said boy glared at them.

"If you guys just wanted to stand around and not do any actual shopping, you guys should have just stayed home instead of coming to the mall," Carson shifted his gaze back and forth between the two guys in front of him. "Why the hell do you guys keep stopping?"

Just then, James' phone let out another buzz and tone which caused Carson to look towards the device. He quickly went to reach for it, but luckily James pulled it back before he could grab it.

"If you have to go home, then leave. Maybe then, we'd get some actual shopping done." Carson said as he straightened himself up.

James found himself staring wide eyed towards Carson before putting on a calm face again. He wouldn't waste his time getting mad at Carson now, because he knew that wouldn't get him anywhere.

"Alright," James started already turning to leave. "I'll see you guys at school on Monday then."

"Aaron, Sam, let's go." Carson shook his head in disbelief as he once again turned to head in the other direction.

Sam instantly followed Carson's lead and began following said boy. Aaron on the other hand once again stayed in place before he quickly reacted.

"Actually," Aaron began, causing Carson to scoff and stop. "I'm going to get going also. See you on Monday guys."

Carson didn't waste anymore time eye rolling or letting out sighs of disbelief, he was tired of always waiting for his friends to do what he wanted. He continued forward.

"Let's go Sam."

And Sam followed.

"James, wait up!"

James suddenly stopped as he turned to see Aaron approaching him. He quickly hit some buttons on his cell phone before closing the screen again. He tilted his head in a questioning manner as the other boy finally stepped in front of him.

"What?"

"Well you never did tell me who was texting you."

James rolled his eyes as he once again turned to leave. Aaron quickly moved forward and fell into step with the tall brunette. James turned to glare at Aaron causing the boy to hold his hands up in defense.

"Hey, I'm sorry. If it really is your mom texting you-"

James looked away and let out a sigh.

"It isn't."

Aaron only nodded his head. He didn't want to push the brunette further. The two of them continued to walk in silence until they finally exited the mall. James finally turned towards Aaron.

"Would you mind giving me a ride somewhere?"

Aaron turned his head towards James, a smile on his face.

"Why do you think I came after you?" Aaron said as he dangled his car keys in the air. He began walking towards his car, James following close behind.

When the two of them were in with their seatbelts buckled, Aaron started up the car. He turned towards James.

"Where to, your highness?" Aaron joked as James lightly punched him on the shoulder.

"To Kendall Knight's house." James quickly pulled out his phone as he told Aaron where to go. He opened up a fresh text message and quickly typed one before hitting send.

'**I'm on my way. –J'**


	4. Is A Friend Indeed

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing but the plot.

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><p><strong>Is A Friend Indeed<strong>

Kendall Knight sat on his front porch impatiently tapping his foot. When he couldn't stand sitting anymore, he stood up and started pacing back and forth. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and flipped the screen open. No new messages or missed calls. He let out a huff of frustration as he glared at the screen of his phone as if hoping being angry at the device would make him feel better. It didn't.

As he placed his cell phone back into his pocket, he leaned forward and rested his hands on the banister of his porch, before looking over his left shoulder and turned his head towards his living room window. There seated on the couch, along with his younger sister Katie, was one of his best friends since Pre-K Carlos Garcia.

As if she knew he was looking at the two of them, Katie turned her head towards her brother. Kendall sent her a questioning stare, which was answered by a shrug of the younger Knight's shoulder. She frowned sadly before turning her attention back towards the Latino boy. Still watching the two of them, Kendall let his mind wander to about ten minutes ago when the Latino boy had arrived.

Kendall knew something was bothering his friend the moment Carlos had entered the Knight residence. The first sign was the absence of the normally radiant smile that was plastered on the Latino's face. The second sign, was the sullen 'We need to talk.' that Carlos let out as he neared Kendall and made his way onto the couch. The last, and most troubling sign, was that once Carlos had entered the Knight household, he had turned down Mrs. Knight's offer for food. And this isn't just any food we're talking about here; no we're talking about Carlitos Garcia turning down corndogs. Corndogs!

The moment the 'No thanks, Mrs. Knight.' left Carlos' lips; Mrs. Knight dropped and broke the plates that she had been washing, Katie looked up from her Nintendo DS causing her character to die from the final boss in the game, and Kendall sent the plastic puck he was aiming towards a makeshift goalie, towards a vase on the shelf instead instantly breaking it.

The three members of the Knight family stared at each other worriedly as Carlos pulled his helmet off his head and started playing with the straps. Katie turned off her DS and made her way towards the Latino boy to try and cheer him up. She saw Kendall already pulling out his phone and stepping outside. Once Kendall closed the front door, he immediately called James.

When the tall brunette failed to pick up, Kendall called him again and got the same result. He let out a sigh as he opened up a message and sent a text to the brunette, and here he was now. Standing outside waiting for James to arrive.

Kendall turned away from the window and began drumming his fingers along the banister of his porch. The Latino boy obviously had something on his mind, and the sooner that Kendall knew what it was, the sooner he could fix it. Because Kendall Knight didn't like it when there was something wrong with his friends, and Carlos, with the way he's acting now, definitely had something bothering him.

Kendall was just about to pull out his phone and text James again when he finally saw a black Range Rover pull up into his driveway. He pushed himself away from the banister and made to climb down the first few steps of his porch when he finally recognized the driver of the car. He stopped moving as James exited the vehicle and started making his way towards Kendall. At this, Kendall shifted his gaze back and forth between the tall brunette and the driver of the car. He honestly didn't know who to direct his look of disbelief at more.

Before he could decide on James however, said boy rushed past him making sure to keep his gaze away from Kendall's at all time. Kendall looked back as James entered his house and let out a 'Hey, Mrs. Knight!' He shook his head and turned forward again as he saw Aaron flashing him a toothy grin and waving at him before pulling out of the Knight's driveway. Kendall could only throw his arms into the air as he made his way inside his house.

As Kendall walked through his front door, he shifted his gaze to the right and into the living room where he saw his two friends slouched on the couch. Katie went to stand up and made her way out of the room to meet her brother.

"Kendall," the younger Knight started with a worried look on her face. "I know I don't have to ask this, because I already know that you're going to do it, but please make things right again."

She turned away from her brother and looked towards the two boys on the couch sadly before making her way upstairs.

Kendall nodded his head even though there was no one to see it and stepped into the living room. As he stepped around the couch, he noted that Carlos' expression still hadn't changed. In fact, with the arrival of James, the sullen expression on the Latino's face now seemed to emit worry and unease. Kendall knitted his eyebrows as he became more determined to find out what was bothering his best friend.

Kendall then shifted his gaze towards his other best friend. He saw that James was staring absentmindedly into the air still avoiding Kendall's gaze. The brunette was also running his 'lucky comb' through his already perfect hair for the nth time.

He sent a glare towards James which seemingly made the brunette finally meet the blonde's eyes. But just as soon as their eyes met, James shifted his gaze away again.

"What?"

It had come out of James' mouth so quietly that Kendall almost missed it. But he still heard it anyways and that was when his patience finally broke.

"Seriously, you're seriously going to play stupid and just pretend that I didn't see who you were with just a few minutes ago?"

Kendall crossed his arms and raised his eyebrow in a questioning stare. James continued to stay silent and again was looking at anywhere besides Kendall.

"So let me get this straight," Kendall began as he started pacing back and forth in front of the couch. "The reason why you were ignoring all my calls earlier, and why it took you so long to reply to my text messages, was because you were hanging out with Carson and his friends! Are you freaking kidding me?"

It seemed James' patience had worn thin as well when he finally jumped up off the couch and stood up to face Kendall.

"So what if I was? God, Kendall," James let out frustratedly. "We aren't in middle school anymore. What, just because you, Carlos, Christian, and I have been friends for so long, I'm not allowed to have other friends? I don't need you telling me who I can and can't hang out with because it's none of your god damn business! "

As James finished, Kendall backed up and stared at the tall brunette with wide eyes. He let the words sink in and instantly dropped his gaze to the floor. James took a minute to calm down before his eyes became pained and he dropped his gaze also. Kendall backed up a few more steps and dropped himself onto a chair across from the couch. James did the same and dropped himself onto the couch next to Carlos. The uncomfortable silence stretched on as each of the boys refused to be the first to break the awkward silence.

Surprisingly, it was Carlos that finally chose to cut in.

"Where is Chris anyways?" The Latino boy asked as he looked around the living room as if finally noticing that only two of his three best friends were sitting there. James seemed to have the same realization as he too began looking around.

"He went to visit his cousins in Chicago. He told us that he would be gone for the weekend after school on Friday. Remember?" Kendall stated as he stared at his two friends as he thought back to the time he was referring to.

It was understandable for Carlos to be forgetful when it came to remembering stuff. Not to mention that Kendall noticed Carlos had been acting differently all week. Almost as if the usual happiness that seemed to burst from his friend dimmed a little bit. But Kendall thought nothing of it then. Now, he wasn't so sure it was a good idea to not question what was bothering the Latino boy.

James on the other hand, Kendall remembered, was texting someone on his phone when Christian had told them that he would be gone for the weekend. Kendall shook his head as he remembered how James had lied and told them that it was his mom texting him. Now he had an idea as to exactly who it was that was texting him.

But Kendall drew the thought from his mind when he finally realized the real problem he should be fixing right now. James can come later, as Kendall looked over at Carlos. Kendall stood up from his spot, and clapped his hands together.

"He'll be back at school tomorrow. But that's not what we should be talking about right now," Kendall began as he looked over to Carlos, James instantly following Kendall's gaze. "We should be discussing what you wanted to talk about."

Carlos suddenly went wide eyed as he shifted his gaze back and forth between his two friends. When he suddenly bolted off the couch, James jumped back in surprise.

He stood at his spot for a few seconds, before he began mimicking Kendall from earlier and started pacing back and forth instantly deep in thought. A few minutes passed before it looked like Carlos had figured out what to say, but stopped before shaking his head and began pacing again. Kendall and James watched Carlos do this three times before one of them finally chose to cut in.

"Carlos," James called, successfully gaining the Latino's attention. "Whatever it is that's bothering you, you know you can tell us."

"Yeah man," Kendall added. "We're friends, you can tell us anything. So there's no need to be nervous."

Carlos nodded slowly as he once again stared at his two friends. HE went to the couch and grabbed his helmet before placing it on top of his head and patting the side of it twice. He then returned to the space he was pacing at, before he started.

"Okay, let's say hypoetically," Carlos started before he stopped and thought about what he said. "No, hyprotectively?"

Carlos groaned as he held his head in his hands trying to think of the correct word. James and Kendall looked at each other before Kendall answered.

"Hypothetically?"

Carlos looked up and nodded his head as he finally knew what to say.

"Right, that's the word Chris used. Anyways," Carlos said as he started pacing again. "Let's say hypothetically," Carlos said the word slowly in order to not mess it up. "There was this guy you knew for a long time, who's been keeping a secret from his friends. And let's say that this secret happened to be that the guy was g-"

Carlos gulped back the words as he shifted his gaze to the ground completely missing the look that passed between James and Kendall. Before they could voice their thoughts however, Carlos looked up and continued.

"The guy's secret was that he was gay," Carlos fought to keep himself from looking to the ground. He also fought to keep the tears that were threatening to spill from his eyes from falling. He needed to keep composure. He shifted his gaze to his friends searching for a reaction to his statement. The only one he saw though was the split second widening of their eyes before their expression returned to their neutral expressions. Carlos blinked a few times in confusion and cleared his throat before he continued. "What would you guys think?"

Carlos again looked at his friends. Kendall was slowly rubbing the palm of his hands together, while looking over at James, the corner of the blonde's lips curling up a little. James on the other hand, didn't refrain from letting the smile break out on his face before he turned to Carlos.

"Hypothetically speaking, right?"

Carlos looked on in confusion and a little bit of worry as he shifted his eyes at his smiling friends. He slowly nodded his head to answer the tall brunette.

"Yeah, hypothetically."

"Well," Kendall suddenly cut in a full blown smile now on his lips. "In this hypothetical situation, I would say that this guy with the secret is being kind of an idiot."

Carlos' eyes widened as he lowered his gaze to the ground sadly. He again had to fight back to hold the tears in.

"Yup," James added. "A complete idiot."

Carlos fell onto the couch defeated as he hunched over and covered his mouth to soften the sound of the sob that came from him. A single tear finally escaped and slid down his cheek as his composure finally broke. He hid his face in his hands as the tears now began falling freely from his eyes in a seemingly never ending torrent. He knew that this had been a bad idea. It took so much courage to tell his friends what he had wanted to say and for it to end like this made it all seem worthless. He had his Dad hating him for who he was, and now his two best friends hated him as well. Not only that, but they thought that he was an idiot for being different.

As another sob came from his lips, he was surprised when he suddenly felt two sets of arms wrapping around his frame. He drew his gaze up and saw that Kendall and James were embracing him in a hug. James' arms wrapping around his midsection, while Kendall's around his shoulders. Carlos brought up his hand to wipe away at his eyes as he looked at his friends. The smiles were still on their lips which continued to confuse Carlos. It was then that Kendall chose to speak.

"The guy is being an idiot," Kendall started as he tightened his embrace on Carlos. The Latino boy burying his face into Kendall's bicep, the fabric of the blonde's shirt soaking up the remaining tears. "Because he thinks that his friends would ever hate him for his secret."

As the words fell on the Latino's ears, he again began crying. He pulled his arms back and threw them around to embrace his friends. The sadness and worry that gripped the Latino boy moments ago was replaced with relief and a bit of happiness. Relief, from the fact his friends wouldn't hate him for being gay, for being born different. Happiness, from the fact that he had friends as great as Kendall and James.

As Carlos finally calmed down, he smiled as he finally found the courage he needed to do what he had to do. He drew his arms back causing Kendall and James to draw back as well and look at their friend. Carlos was surprised to see that their cheeks had evidence of wetness as well, and once again found happiness course through him.

The three of them pulled back from each other and sat on the couch in a comfortable silence. Carlos shifted his gaze to his friends to see that there truly was no hatred in their eyes, none at all. Kendall was shaking his head and smiling. James was rubbing the side of his index finger on the rim of his eyes to try and clear the few tears that remained there. He looked forward again and smiled. He was finally ready to tell them the truth. He took a deep breath in and let it out before starting.

"Guys, I need to tell you something," Carlos began, granting him his two friend's attention. "The guy in the hypothetical situation is-"

Carlos paused again before shaking his head. He already knew that his friends wouldn't hate him for it, so he chose to finish.

"It's me; I'm the guy in the hypothetical situation. I'm gay."

Carlos took a deep breath before shifting his gaze back towards his friends to see their reaction. If possible, Kendall's smile widened even more as he slowly started laughing. James on the other hand, put his hand on Carlos' helmet before patting it. He too had a smile on his face as he stared at Carlos shaking his head.

"We know buddy, we know."

And as James finished his statement, the radiant smile finally returned to Carlos' lips. And just as Katie had hoped, Kendall, with the help of James, had managed to fix what was wrong and make things right again.

"And you know what?" Kendall asked causing Carlos to aim the beautiful smile towards him.

"What?" The Latino boy asked.

"We still don't hate you for it." Kendall finished.

And the spark that died in Carlos' eyes ignited once more. Though it may not be as bright as it originally was, at least it was back. And really, that was all that mattered.


	5. Going the Distance

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing but the plot.

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><p><strong>Going The Distance<strong>

When Katie Knight heard the sound of laughter filter into her room, she let a small smile break out on her face. She turned her DS off and made to jump off her bed before she was stopped by the tone of her cell phone. She stopped and quickly flipped over onto her stomach as she reached for her phone on her bedside drawer.

As she flipped the screen open, the smile on her face broke into a wide grin as she saw who had texted her. A second later, when she realized what had just happened, her eyes widened as she shifted her eyes worriedly from side to side in case someone had seen the look on her face moments ago. She shook her head and laughed at how dumb she was being and again looked at her phone.

**1 New Message From: Kyle**

She hit the button to open the message, before scanning over to read it. As she finished reading the words, she raised an eyebrow at the screen. She hit the reply button and typed up a quick message before hitting send.

She pocketed her cell phone before making her way off of her bed and towards the closet. She flung it open and grabbed a pair of shoes and her jacket before making her way downstairs.

* * *

><p>"-son."<p>

"Mason."

"Master Mason!"

Mason Mitchell who a second ago had been spaced out suddenly drew his attention towards the passenger seat next to him. He blinked a few times and shook to clear his head and looked forward again.

"Sorry," He cleared his throat. "What were you saying?"

Bradley stared at Mason worriedly. He didn't want to say anything, but as he stared at Mason again, he saw that he was back to what he had been doing before. Bradley shifted his gaze towards the backseat and let a gentle smile form on his lips.

Cell phone clutched loosely in his hand, glasses askew and about to fall off, and lightly snoring in the back seat was Logan Mitchell.

Bradley turned his attention towards Mason again. Not for the first time, he noticed the sadness in the older man's eyes as he stared into the rearview mirror looking at his son. Bradley let out a soft sigh before he continued.

"Mason," Bradley said softly, successfully catching the older Mitchell's attention. "Are you still worried about your decision to move to Minnesota?"

Mason shifted his eyes away from Bradley and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. Mason's silence was all Bradley needed to know that was what was bothering the older man. Bradley once again shifted his gaze towards Logan and saw that the boy's cell phone had fallen to the floor. He reached over and picked it up only to almost drop it once more when it suddenly vibrated in his hand.

Bradley quickly looked at the screen of the phone and smiled at the background image that was currently being shown. It was a picture of Logan and another boy with their arms thrown over each others shoulders with wide grins plastered on both of their faces. Both Logan and the boy were covered in dust and smoke and if you looked closely enough, you could see a few places where their hair was singed off and still smoking. Logan was also holding a big blue ribbon that said '1st Place Winner for 8th Grade Science Fair.'

Bradley looked further down and saw that the reason the phone had vibrated was because someone had sent Logan a message. Bradley reached over and placed the phone back into Logan's hands and turned towards Mason again.

"You shouldn't doubt your decision Mason," Bradly said. He noticed that Mason suddenly squeezed the steering wheel again before loosening his grip. "You did what you thought was best and if I may say so, you choosing to move for Logan's sake was the right one."

"The right decision," Mason let out a scoff. "Then why doesn't it feel right? Why does it make me feel like because of my decision to move Logan away from California that he hates me now. My own son, hates me." Mason let the last of the words out softly as his eyes scrunched up as he tried to hold back tears. "I-I've made so many mistakes Bradley. So many..."

Bradley wanted to say something, anything that would lift the heavy air that hung inside the car. But as he looked over to Mason, saw how hard the older man was trying to keep it together, he knew that if he spoke again that Mason would break down and start crying. He sat back and looked out the window as he let Mason's words run though his mind.

_I've made so many mistakes._

Bradley reached into his coat pocket and gave his own cell phone a tight squeeze.

_So many._

* * *

><p>Katie let out a sigh and watched as the cold Minnesota air made her breath visible. She shoved her hands into her pockets as a cold gust picked up and again regretted not grabbing the gloves and earmuffs that her mother had told her to get before she left the house. When the gust was gone, she straightened herself up again and turned back towards her brother and his friends.<p>

"Kendork, would you mind lending me your beanie?"

Kendall raised an eyebrow and just continued to walk past his sister. He took three steps before turning his head and smiling at her.

"Maybe if you ask a little bit nicer I'll consider it."

"Oh, forget it." Katie rolled her eyes before continuing to walk again. She only managed a few steps forward before her field of vision was blocked by a very large helmet.

"Here Katie you can use this," Katie lifted the front of the helmet and looked at Carlos grinning at her. "It's a lot better than Kendall's beanie anyways."

Kendall feigned being hurt by Katie ignoring him and Carlos making fun of his beanie before his expression turned slightly annoyed, a look that Katie didn't fail to notice, as he turned around and started walking again. Katie stared at Carlos for a moment and thought better to tell the Latino boy that a hockey helmet wouldn't really make the biting cold air any better. She just smiled back and then continued forward.

"Thanks Carlos."

The Latino grinned again as he started walking next to Katie. It was then that Katie noticed that something was different with the three friends. They were a lot quieter than they normally were when they hung out. She didn't put it to the fact that Christian was missing because Katie always found Christian to be the most mature one of the group.

Still walking next to Carlos, she first looked in front of her at her brother. By the way that his shoulders were hunched over a little bit and with him looking over his shoulder every few seconds or so, Katie knew that there was something still bothering the older Knight.

Katie then shifted her eyes to her right staring at Carlos. When she had come downstairs to tell her mom that somebody was moving into the new house on Hampton Road and that she was going to see what the new family was like, she was glad to see that Carlos' face once again held the smile she was so used to seeing on the Latino's face. But now that she actually stared at him up close, the way that he nervously played with the strings of his hoodie and the fact that he kept his eyes, which held a hint of pain and sadness in them, towards the ground Katie knew that even though Kendall and James had managed to make Carlos smile again, that the Latino was still holding something in that he wasn't telling anyone.

Katie looked forward again and thought maybe that her brother knew that Carlos was still hiding something, and that was the reason why the older Knight kept looking back, but then she noticed that Kendall's gaze drew past herself and Carlos. When Kendall turned forward again, Katie finally turned her head to the last boy of the group.

The moment that Katie turned around, she caught James staring at her as well. James then shifted his gaze downwards as well. She noticed that James had his hand in his coat pocket and from the flexing of the tall boy's arms every now and then, knew that the brunette was squeezing his cell phone. She watched him for a few more seconds and saw him gasp softly when a sudden tone rang from his pocket.

If Kendall heard the tone telling him that James had gotten a message, he didn't show it. Katie watched as James looked back up to stare at Kendall and then turn his head to the side as a sad look passed on his face. Whatever was going on, Katie didn't like that there seemed to be something different that bothered each boy. They were all normally so close and the fact that the three of them seemed so distant now, bothered her. She'd have to remember to tell Christian about this situation when he was back. Hopefully, he could figure out what was wrong and possibly make everything right again...

She was too busy looking back and forth between her brother and James that she suddenly bumped into Carlos.

"Wha-"

"We're supposed to turn here Katie. You said Hampton Road right?"

Katie looked at the street sign and saw that they had arrived on the correct street. She nodded as she began walking again.

"What was the address of the house Katie?" Kendall asked in front of her.

Katie was about to pull out her cell phone when she noticed a boy standing down the middle of the block waving at her. She pointed forward and the four of them made their way towards Katie's friend, Kyle. As they neared the young boy, Kendall slowed down a little and put his arms around his sister's shoulders. He squinted his eyes at Kyle almost as if trying to judge exactly what was going on between this boy and his sister.

Katie stared in mock horror when she saw what her brother was doing as she stomped her foot on his left foot. He immediately let go as Katie cleared her throat and stepped next to Kyle.

"You made it," Kyle said as he sent a small smile towards Katie. He then looked up at the three other guys that were with her. The two tall ones seemed to be eying him suspiciously. The blonde one more so than the brunette one but still equally eying him like they wanted to tie him up and put him under a bright interrogation light. The shorter tan one took a quick glance at him before looking towards the house. "Nice helmet."

"Thanks." Katie and Carlos said simultaneously.

Kyle looked at the tan boy in confusion before shrugging his shoulders and turning to face the house as well. With the five of them now focusing on the house, all of them stared in awe at the scene. It was James who finally spoke first.

"Either a celebrity is moving into the neighborhood," The tall brunette began. "Or someone rich is moving into this mansion. Because this is one of the biggest houses I've ever seen."

Everyone could do nothing but nod as they stared in awe at the size of the property they were staring at.

"Well unless you know of any celebrities with Mitchell as their last name, I'm betting on the latter of you two choices."

Katie and the three guys turned towards Kyle in a questioning stare. He stared at them and then moved back from the tall gate he was gripping before making his way to the stone wall that lined the property. He pointed to a sign that was posted on the front of the wall. Katie and the four guys walked over and read the sign.

"3268 Hampton Rd. Property Sold." Katie read aloud. "The Mitchell Family."

The five kids suddenly let out loud yelps of surprise as a car honked behind them and the gate to the property suddenly began to open. They all turned around and saw a black Lexus start to pull up into the driveway. They all caught the two older men in the front of the car waving politely at them and a young boy about the same age as Kendall, James, and Carlos in the back seat suddenly woken up by the loud honk the car let out. As the gates finally closed, the five kids made their way towards the gate again looking as each of the passengers got out of the car.

"Welcome to the neighborhood."


	6. Regrets and Mistakes

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing but the plot.

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><p><strong>Regrets and Mistakes<strong>

"_No," Logan said firmly as he slowly shook his head. He sat up straight in his chair as he swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat, desperately trying not to let his emotions get the better of him. "You can't do this to me Dad. You can't."_

"_Logan," Mason said sadly as he tried his hardest to keep his gaze focused on his son. "Please try to understand-"_

"_But that's just it Dad," Logan yelled out as he slammed the palms of his hands against the kitchen counter. Mason could see the pain, confusion, and sadness in his son's eyes and he had to avert his gaze. "I don't understand. How can you expect me to when you won't even give me a straight answer as to why we're moving."_

_Mason leaned forward and placed his elbows on the counter before rubbing the palms of his hands over his face tiredly._

"_- for you." Mason mumbled through his hands._

"_What?"_

_Mason pulled his hands away from his face and rested his chin on an open palm before repeating what he had said._

"_I'm doing it for you Logan. I'm-"_

"_For me," Logan once again cut his Dad off as he stared in disbelief. "Dad, if you're doing this for me, then you'd know that I would never have wanted this. You'd understand that moving away is a stupid idea and that I wouldn't want to do it. You'd realize that I would hate it if I had to leave Cross Academy and that I'd hate it even more if I had to leave Jimmy behind."_

"_Logan," Mason stared at his son sadly. He wanted to approach his son and make things right, but Logan stood from the chair that he had been sitting in and turned to leave the room._

"_But that's just it Dad, you __**don't **__know," Logan gave one last look at his Dad as he stood at __the entrance to the kitchen. "Not that I expected you to."_

_As Logan finally exited the kitchen, the sound of a sob escaping his Dad's lips echoed through the quiet house as the tears too finally fell from Logan's eyes._

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><p>Logan let out a gasp of surprise as he was suddenly woken up by the sound of a car honking. His glasses, which were already about to fall off his face, finally fell into his lap. In his surprise, he dropped his phone as well. As he went to reach down and pick up his phone, he caught a quick and blurry glimpse of five kids standing on the sidewalk before the gates closed and the car pulled up the long curved driveway.<p>

When he finally managed to pick up his phone and put his glasses back on his face, as the car pulled in front of the garage, Logan looked to his left and finally got a good look at the house.

The red brick house stood two stories, and when Logan shifted his gaze further up, he saw that there was an attic as well. A small smile broke out on Logan's lips as he was already making plans of taking the attic as his room. Trimmed bushes and shrubs lined the outside of the house which led to a stone porch held up by stone pillars and was completed with a huge two door entrance. All in all, the house was amazing. Definitely on par with some of the houses in California.

Logan followed the lead of the two men in the front seat and made his way out of the car. As another gust of wind picked up, Logan quickly wrapped his arms around himself tight; his flimsy cardigan doing nothing to protect him from the biting cold wind that had passed. The major difference in weather alone further reminded Logan that they weren't in California anymore.

With the dream he had been having a few moments ago still fresh on his mind, Logan lifted his head and saw out of the corner of his eye that his dad was looking at him. Looking at him in hopes that Logan would accept the house as their new home. That Logan would come to understand what his dad meant when he had said that he was doing this for Logan's sake. That Logan wouldn't hate him anymore.

The looks his dad were giving him made Logan turn his head away. Thinking back to his dream once more, Logan hated himself for not being able to make things right with his dad again. For the past two weeks leading up to them moving, Logan kept looking for an opportunity to apologize to his dad. But no such opportunity came. Mason was still left feeling like his son hated him, and Logan was still left with the guilt of not being able to apologize to his dad for the things that he had said.

Bradley, who was standing on the opposite side of the car, observed the two men before him. He stared on in sadness as he saw the pained look pass through Logan's turned face, while Mason dropped his gaze on Logan as his expression turned pained as well. As Bradley shifted his gaze between the two men, he reminded himself to try and make the relationship between Mason and Logan right again.

When another gust of wind picked up, Mason finally moved from his spot and started making his way towards the entrance of the house. Logan turned his head to see Bradley follow Mason's lead. Bradley met Logan's gaze and the two of them shared a small, if not forced on Logan's part, smile. When Bradley passed, Logan looked up at the house again before letting out a tired sigh. He began forward before a sudden shout to his left made him turn towards the sound.

He realized that it was the kids that were standing at the gate earlier. Logan noted the only girl in the group had her hands on her hips and looked kind of angry at the tall blonde one. He also noticed that there were now only four kids instead of five. The tall blonde one, the only girl in the group, a young boy a little taller than the girl, and a boy wearing a helmet.

Logan stood staring at the group of kids before he turned his head again when Bradley called out to him.

"Master Logan, come inside before you catch cold."

Logan started making his way towards the house as he gave one last look towards the gate. The group of kids seemed to be leaving as well. The young boy made for the opposite direction as the tall blonde and the young girl. The tall blonde gave a wave to the boy in the helmet before leaving with the young girl. When Logan finally reached the door to his house, he saw the boy in the helmet turn his gaze towards him. They stood there staring at each other before the boy in the helmet raised his hand and waved at Logan. Logan raised his hand and gave a tiny wave as the boy in the helmet turned and left as Logan finally stepped inside the house and closed the door.

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><p><strong>AN: **The next chapter should be up in about a week or so, if my college classes don't take up too much of my time, I may update sooner.

Read & Review!

-Lucas


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